“A collection of profound and epic album reviews and musical articles by former astronaut and brain surgeon, Alasdair Kennedy. Reaching levels of poetry that rival Keats and Blake, the following reviews affirm Alasdair to be a prodigy, a genius and a god whose opinion is always objectively right. He is also without a doubt the most modest man in the universe.” - Alasdair Kennedy

Guerilla Toss have previously been a little too noisy and
noodling for my liking, but on GT Ultra
they’ve injected a catchiness into their sound that makes the experimentalism more
enjoyable. Kassie Carlson’s crazed incantations and the instrumental mix of
synths, punky guitars, funky bass and cowbell all defy genre-labelling. I’m
excited to hear how they develop sonically from here.

After several years apart, indie electro-rockers LCD
Soundsystem reformed in 2017 to bring us this new album. James Murphy’s social
commentary is more bitter and beguiling than ever before, whilst the
instrumentals are hypnotic and danceable. It’s synthpop with brains and despite
drawing on retro ideas and being delivered by a middle-aged band, it feels
extremely current.

I’ve only listened to this album once in its entirety and
will probably never listen to the whole thing again, but it’s the concept and emotional
impact that lends this album my top spot. The eleven songs on this album were
written immediately after the death of Phil Elverum’s wife and played on her
instruments. Stripping away the mythology of death, Phil describes his feelings
in gritty detail. Few artists experiencing such a tragedy would dare to go so
deep. The result is a folk album that approaches death with more rawness than
any record before it. It’s not entertainment, but as a piece of art it’s very
moving (just be prepared for what you’re about to listen to because it’s very
heavy stuff).